'Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking' by Nathan Myhrvold is a $625 tome on the art of molecular gastronomy. The cookbook is currently offered at Amazon for a $203 discount, which means its actual retail price is hovering around $422.

What can you expect to learn from Nathan Myhrvold's pricey cookbook? Freeze-fried lobster tail, mussels encased in a gelee of their own liquid, and how to use ingredients like hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes.